


The Alien at Camp Marmora

by flukeloops



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Chronic Pain, Established Relationship, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Merman Shiro, Sequel, Shiro POV, Summer Camp, camp shenanigans, mermaid au, mutual misunderstanding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-07-06 06:13:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15880188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flukeloops/pseuds/flukeloops
Summary: Shiro and Keith are back at Camp Arus and madly in love. Alfor has to take a week off to tend to personal matters and has left his friend Kolivan in charge. Kolivan presents the staff and campers with Camp Marmora: a grueling 5-day challenge that tests their bodies and maybe even their minds. Will Shiro and Keith's fairy tale romance stand through it all? What will the challenge reveal about both of them?On top of it all, the longer Shiro stays in human form, the worse his legs hurt. He's afraid that he and Keith's worlds will drift too far apart if he has to live in the water.[SEQUEL to The Mermaid of Lake Altea]





	1. It’s Good to be Back

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for your patience! I know this has been a long time coming. I really hope you enjoy this installment! If you want to read the first one, check out this: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11921151/chapters/26940411

_ “ _ _ Your tail will then disappear, and shrink up into what mankind calls legs, and you will feel great pain, as if a sword were passing through you. But all who see you will say that you are the prettiest little human being they ever saw. You will still have the same floating gracefulness of movement, and no dancer will ever tread so lightly; but at every step you take it will feel as if you were treading upon sharp knives, and that the blood must flow.” _ \--Hans Christian Andersen, The Little Mermaid

There was no scent in the world quite like Camp Arus. It was more than just fresh air, the freshly cut grass, or the sweet smell of the honeysuckle that had slowly overtaken the sunny side of the staff lodge. It was also the smell of wet canvas, smokey wood, and dried tempera paint. Shiro took in a deep breath. Camp smelled like home. Tomorrow morning, the property would be bouncing with a new wave of campers and kids just like he was at their age. Well, maybe not. He doubted many, if any, turned into a fish when they got wet. To be fair, he spent a lot of his childhood trying to hide that fact. 

Shiro flicked his sunglasses up, pushing his white bangs up and out of his vision. The property looked great with plenty of open field to run around. He remembered playing tag and the occasional forbidden game of red rover. He never did well. Legs weren’t exactly his asset. He’d struggled with mild chronic pain in them for his entire life, but as he got older, mild turned more persistent. On bad days, those days when he didn’t have time to swim or even take aquatic form, those days he ached for his tail, it turned into severe. 

Coran had run tests. He pulled strings at his practice to run every test he could without nosy staff butting in. From fluoroscopies to ultrasounds, Shiro had his entire body scanned and poked to find out if the pain he was feeling was serious. Unfortunately with a sample size of exactly one merman, it was difficult to find a correlation. From what Coran could piece together, having legs was really supposed to be more of a temporary thing in order to travel from land masses to other bodies of water. The nerve endings and vessels just didn’t translate as well into legs. Shiro’s tail was long and packed with heavy muscle and bone. It was a lot to reconfigure. Coran suggested taking aquatic form as often as possible. 

Shiro tried this. He swam more often. Once Alfor had officially adopted him as a child, he built a massive freshwater pool in his home where real fish-- and Shiro-- enjoyed the various hidden tunnels and passages built into it. He even had a small clubhouse under the water that was just for him to be himself, play pretend, and hide treasures (Which is where he learned that many toys with electronic components just weren’t built with adolescent merboys in mind). As an adult, Shiro still had a tendency to hide things there: cool shells he found on their trip to the beach, some gift shop tchotchkes, an engagement ring.

Keith.

Finally, he had someone who knew his secret. That someone happened to be the prettiest most cutest boy in the world. Shiro sighed absently as his thoughts wandered around Keith. Sure, he was just inside the staff lodge and they had just seen each other five minutes ago and kissed each other ten minutes ago and fondled each other twelve minutes ago and were pressed up against the side of the lodge and each other, locked in deep make out session number forty-five that day until Pidge broke it up with a “ _ Get a room already you two, fucking Christ. _ ” _...   _ thirteen minutes ago. Maybe they were overdoing it, but two touch starved orphans had a lot of affection to make up for. 

“Babe,” Keith’s gravely voice summoned from the doorway of the staff lodge. Shiro turned and Keith gestured his head inside. “Staff meeting.”

The staff lodge itself had its own distinct smell. It was built in the 70s out of cinderblock and was held together with layer after layer of latex paint and dirty gray floor tiles. Cleaning products that had been improperly used for generations gave the building a permanent old lemony-bleach smell. A ceiling fan older than everyone but Alfor swung lazily above them with a loud constant mechanical hum. Shiro wouldn’t trade this building for a million dollars. 

Alfor had set up a circle of folding metal chairs in the center of the room. As everyone took their seats, he handed each staff member a blank white card and a marker. It didn’t take long for Keith and Pidge to start drawing on each other. Allura tossed them a disapproving look until Pidge offered to draw a flower on the back of her hand as well.

“I want everyone to pick a camp name.” Alfor announced as a mischievous smile deepend the crow’s feet at his eyes. He tapped to his own name tag, which read  _ Boss. _

“Camp… name?” Lance tapped the tip of his marker against his lip, brow furrowed in thought. 

“Ooh, we did this at the all girls camp I used to work for! At the end of the week, they have to try and guess your real name.” Pidge beamed, taking her marker from the doodle that was turning dangerously phallic on Allura’s wrist and printed P-I-D-G-E in the largest and most obnoxious letters she could fit. Lance leaned over and frowned.

“That’s cheating. You can’t use your real name.”

“Yeah, Lance. My parents took one look at me and went ‘Yes, this is our beautiful child, Pidge.’” 

Keith snorted as he stared down at his blank card. It looked like he was struggling to think of something, but it wasn’t like Shiro was doing any better. 

“Just make sure you pick a good one or you might get stuck with something like Hunk for the rest of your life.” Hunk shook his head gravely, “Once they pick something for you, it sticks.”

“Wait,” Allura looked up from decorating the word  _ Princess _ , “Hunk, what’s your real name?”

“Mine? Oh—“

“YOU HAVE TO GUESS, ALLURA.” Lance interrupted. The volume of the room increased from that moment onward as the rest of the staff discussed the pros and cons of certain names. 

Shiro continued to stare down at his empty card until Pidge’s marker covered hand creeped into view to reach over and take it away from him. She took Keith’s as well and scribbled on them both before holding them up for them to see. Shiro felt his face heat up as he read  _ Top  _ and  _ Bottom. _

Allura snorted, “Okay, but which one is Top and which one is Bottom?”

Pidge let out a loud laugh, “Good question!” She looked between the two of them before Alfor snatched the cards from her hands, shaking his head. He handed Shiro and Keith new cards.

“What about Sven?” Lance suggested to Shiro, who tilted his head in confusion.

“Sven? Why?”

Lance shrugged, “Sounds right.”

Shiro shook his head. “I don’t like the name Sven.”

Keith finally started writing and Shiro realized he was the only one who hadn’t thought of a camp name. Could he just use  _ Shiro _ ? That wouldn’t be much fun, though. He’d gone by  _ Shiro _ so long it felt too much like his birth name. He glanced over to see that Keith had started to scribble down something for himself. He was quickly going to be the only one who hadn’t thought up a name.

Maybe something related to his merman side? Oh, but he didn’t want to risk exposure, even if Keith and Allura would get a kick out of it.  He leaned over, feigning an affectionate nuzzle to Keith’s shoulder so he could spy on what he was writing. 

“Kitty Rose?” Shiro read aloud Keith’s even handwriting. Pidge’s eyebrow lifted.

“Sounds like an old timey performer.” She swept her hand in front of her slowly as if reading from a large marquee, “ _ Kitty Rose has left the stage. _ ”.

Lance snorted, “Keith, you can’t use your stripper name.” Pidge’s green Sharpie flew across the room and bounced directly between Lance’s eyes. 

“Hey!” Hunk picked up the marker and waggled his finger at Pidge with a frown. Keith looked too focused on carefully drawing a bunch of roses in the corners of his card to notice the conversation around him.    
  
“It’s my old username for chatrooms and stuff.” He explained to Shiro, who was just about the only one still paying attention to him at the moment. That gave him an idea.

In just a few seconds, the word  _ Champion _ sat on Shiro’s chest in crisp black ink.   
  
“What’s that?” Keith was carefully pinning his own name tag to the front of his camp raglan. 

“I had a lot of free time growing up. This was my username from my PVP days.”

“Ugh, you would play that game so much,” Allura groaned, tilting her head to address Keith, “Which you can imagine was fun when we couldn’t get him out of the pool. You can’t have your laptop and swim with it too.”

“Shiro, I thought you hated water…” Lance pointed out, rubbing the red mark on the bridge of his nose where the Sharpie hit him. He had fixed a name tag to the front of his shirt with the name  _ Pike _ in uneven letters. It looked like he tried to make it look fancy or cool, but his penmanship just wasn’t there. In the corner, he’d drawn a little cat.

Shiro felt his face go cold, then hot as all eyes turned on him. “I… “

“I’ve got an announcement while you finish up your name tags.” Alfor interrupted, Shiro, Keith, and Allura exhaled. Alfor continued.

“I have a friend who will be arriving very soon and you’ll hear all about him tomorrow. In the meantime, while Coran and I were scouting out the larger parts of the property, we discovered something we think the staff will enjoy very much. After clearing out one of the old hiking trails, we found a natural, crystal clear hot spring.” An excited grin grew on Alfor’s face as if he had just found out what KFC was for the first time. 

“A friend…?” Allura cut in, lifting a pale eyebrow at her father. This seemed to be news for her. It didn’t seem like anyone else was worried about the comment because the conversation continued without it.

“A hot spring sounds so good,” Pidge let out a little sigh. 

“How much of a hike is the spring?” Lance asked. No one seemed as worried about Alfor’s friend as Allura. Shiro glanced from Alfor to Allura and decided to ask her about it once the staff meeting was over. 

“It’s down the old Advanced trail.” Alfor handed them one of the property maps that always somehow managed to litter the staff lodge. It was a decent hike for just a little warm water. Shiro hoped it would be enough of a deterrent for the other staff members that he could get some privacy while he relaxed. He exchanged a look with Keith who smiled and nodded. 

\--

When the other staff members mentioned wanting to visit the spring on different nights, Shiro knew this would be one of the only chances he’d get to enjoy the spring privately. He and Keith were able to find it pretty easily, but Alfor was right: the spring itself was on a rocky mountain path. A steep incline for a human and an even more difficult route for a merman whose leg pain was worse by the day. He hoped the payoff was worth it.

The moment Shiro’s body met the hot soothing water, it felt like he was able to exhale for the first time. His sore legs tingled pleasantly as his body molded into its natural form. In just seconds, a long black tail uncurled from where his legs used to be. The matte softness of his scales made them look like vibrant black velvet, offset by iridescent edges of very dark purple. Down his sides-- from his long swallowed tail fins, to his shoulder blades-- ran a pale blue trail of bioluminescent scales. A finer scattering of small black scales sprinkled his from the tips of his elongated finned ears, down his neck, shoulders, and ending at his webbed fingers. Even his prosthetic arm had a track of lights that glowed with his scales. His new arm was a Christmas present from Alfor and it was equipped with a few new features (He was even told it was Bluetooth capable, but he was too embarrassed to try). 

From behind, a pair of hands scooped under his pale bangs and pushed them backward. Keith’s fingers spread and glided through Shiro’s hair like a comb, causing him to tilt his head back with an audible sigh. 

“Hey babe,” Shiro purred out, lifting his eyes upward to get a good look at the upside-down face of his boyfriend. Keith replied with a smile and a kiss to Shiro’s forehead.

“You look so relaxed.” Keith let go of Shiro’s head in order to climb down from the rocks and slide slowly into the hot water next to Shiro. He let out a little happy sigh and seated himself in Shiro’s lap.

“It’s heaven, Keith.” Shiro’s voice was breathy with relief, eyes crinkled in a smile. 

“Legs still hurting you?” Keith’s hand found one of his slender pectoral fins at his hips and ran his hand down its length.

Shiro nodded, “They have their moments, but anymore, I feel like it’s getting worse.” His expression fell. “The pain disappears when I’m like this.”

“Then maybe you should  _ be _ this as often as you can.”

Shiro went quiet, glancing over at the tailfins floating just under the water. Maybe it would reach a point where he wouldn’t be able to change back at all. He wasn’t sure how to express these worries to Keith. It could be a problem that worked itself out, but it could also mean his life, and Keith’s, would change forever. 

“Hey,” Keith’s spring warmed hand on his cheek snapped him out of his thoughts, “we’ll figure it out, okay?” Keith’s thumb moved to the bridge of his nose, sliding over the discolored scarred skin slowly in a soothing and affectionate rub. Shiro realized he’d been scrunching his brow when Keith’s touch made his whole face relax.

“Thank you,” Shiro whispered sincerely as he leaned in to peck his lips. Keith kept his face close, stealing another peck from him as he rested their foreheads together. Shiro wasn’t sure if he could be more in love with a person.

Keith eventually pulled his forehead back and cuddled down into Shiro’s chest, reaching his arms under Shiro’s and finding his dorsal fin. Shiro closed his eyes. It felt like one by one, each of his muscles were loosening up. 

“Hey, wow!” Hunk’s voice pierced through the moment like hot metal through ice, hissing in Shiro’s ears and sending cracks through his attempts to relieve his stress and pain. “You’re actually in the water for once.”

Shiro and Keith’s heads jerked toward the source of the voice to see Hunk stepping out from the wooded trail with his shirt and a towel draped over his shoulder. Shiro’s body was almost completely submerged in the hot spring, but he felt icy cold with adrenaline on the inside. He felt like time had stopped and the only thing moving was his pounding heart. 

“Hunk!” The anger in Keith’s voice was immediate. It was enough to bring Shiro back to real time. His only instinct was to get out of Hunk’s line of sight and he dipped directly under the water. With his head submerged, he felt more of his tail dip above the water’s surface in all it’s glowing sparkling magnificence. Shit! That’s the part he wanted to hide! Panicking, Shiro slapped his tail down on the water-- no doubt covering Hunk in hot spring water-- and twisted out from under Keith. He darted to the far end of the spring where he could hide behind a large boulder. It was no use. The water was crystal clear and Shiro happened to be part nitelite. He surfaced and caught his breath. He could hear Keith shouting.

“I thought you said you were just going to sleep!” Keith growled.

Shiro peeked out from behind the rock and saw Hunk staring at Keith, mouth hung open as his eyes darted to the rock where Shiro was hiding. He’d seen everything. 

“I-I uh… I changed my mind?” Hunk’s bewildered tone hung heavy with distraction. He was clearly still trying to process what he’d seen. Dread boiled in Shiro’s belly. He should erase his memory. Otherwise, he’d tell Lance and Lance would definitely tell Pidge. Then Pidge would be upset that Keith didn’t tell her. He should use his magic, but he promised himself and Keith that he wouldn’t anymore. He couldn’t mess with another person’s brain.

“Please don’t say anything.” Shiro pleaded from behind the boulder. He found Hunk’s eyes and stared directly into them. It seemed like several hours had passed before Hunk slowly nodded in response. 

“I should leave.” Hunk decided, wringing out the towel Shiro had splashed. 

“Hunk!” Shiro stayed behind the boulder. His muscles tensed and wouldn’t let him leave for fear of creating an opportunity for Hunk to get a better look at him. His expression and tone were pleading, “ _ Please. _ ” 

Hunk finally looked Shiro in the eyes and really looked into them. The second nod came more quickly this time, “Okay.”

Hunk took off down the path like a dog whose chain had broken, leaving Shiro and Keith alone again.

Shiro sunk back under the water, wishing he’d disappear.


	2. The Race

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of the challenge is here!  
> Shiro and Pidge talk about secrets and Shiro learns that his friends are really cool people.

“Could I have everyone’s attention?” Alfor’s voice silenced the room in seconds.

Despite the pain in his legs he’d been feeling the day before, Shiro felt much better by the time breakfast rolled around. The aches had subsided for now and he had the hot spring to thank for it. The cafeteria was humming with new campers and the energy level was spiked with all the fresh summer plans and reunited friends. When Alfor called the room to attention, there was a very tall man standing next to him. 

“Thank you, everyone. I’d like you all to meet a very dear friend of mine.” Alfor gestured to the man, “Kolivan, would you introduce yourself?”

Kolivan’s wide square features didn’t change the entire time Alfor addressed him. There was an overall handsomeness to the broad man. His long white hair was woven into a braid and draped over his shoulder. Before he spoke, only the briefest trace of a smile twitched his lip upward.

“As you all now know, my name is Kolivan,” he introduced, “I will be joining you the duration of this week in Alfor’s absence.”

From across the table, Shiro saw Allura in the corner of his eye as her face twisted in confusion. Absence? Where was Alfor going? If Allura didn’t seem to know, it was reasonable for Shiro to be a little worried as well.

Kolivan continued, “I’ve developed a program I think our more adventurous campers and staff will enjoy. While the regular camp activities will continue as usual, any camper or staff member is welcome to join in the Camp Marmora challenge. Every day for the next five days, I will offer a new competition that will challenge the body and perhaps even the mind. Competitors will be eliminated until only the most determined will remain. There will be one sole winner who will win a medal as well as a cash prize of $1000.”

There was a gasp that filled the room followed by hushed chatter. Keith looked up from his cereal with an alarmed expression, milk slowly dribbling down his chin. Alfor raised his hand to call for order and the room quieted down.

Kolivan continued, “You may back out of any challenge at any time, but it results in immediate disqualification from the rest of the competition. The same goes for anyone caught cheating,” he gestured to a blank paper tacked to the wall cork board behind him. “If you are over the age of sixteen, you may sign up for Camp Marmora on the sheet behind me.”

Before Shiro could ask if Keith was going to sign up, his boyfriend was already standing and on his way to the sheet. He knew Keith liked a good challenge, but why was he so determined to participate? Was it the money? He hoped Keith wasn’t in financial trouble especially since he knew Alfor wouldn’t let him struggle when it came down to it. It was a touchy subject and he decided it wasn’t a great time to ask about it.

While Keith was at the sign up sheet, Shiro glanced over at Hunk who quickly jerked his head down to break the accidental eye-contact they had made. Shiro frowned.

“Hunk,” he whispered. Hunk looked back up instantly, “Can I talk to you?”

Hunk stared at Shiro a moment, biting his bottom lip. After a few seconds and a long sigh, Hunk barely nodded his head. 

\--

In the back room of the staff lodge was a cupboard full of craft supplies. It also happened to be the staff’s designated private place. Shiro had made out with Keith in this room more than once and he knew Lance and Hunk disappeared in here on occasion as well. 

“You’re a mermaid?” Hunk sputtered before Shiro had a chance to figure out how to start the conversation. 

“Yeah…” Shiro was kind of grateful for the blunt question, “have you told anyone? Lance?”

“I wanted to!” Hunk started to pace a little, pushing his bangs back, “I almost did tell Lance, but then I thought like maybe there’s a secret mermaid society with mermaid hitmen and you’d make me sleep with the fishes, y’know. Except I don’t have gills… wait, do you have gills?”

Shiro nodded in reply, pointing to the barely noticeable creases on his neck where his gills opened up, “Actually, I’m the only mer...person I know about.”

Hunk frowned, “You’re alone? Where did you come from? Do you remember your parents before Alfor adopted you?”

Shiro shook his head, “I used to live in the camp’s lake when I was little. Alfor caught me stealing from the kitchen and let me stay on the property for the summer.” Come to think of it, why didn’t Alfor call child services? Had he intended to adopt him the whole time? 

“Alfor’s a really good guy.”

“Yeah.”

There was silence for a few moments. 

“So what’s up with Keith? What is he?”

“Sorry?” The question caught Shiro off guard, but he was pretty sure he knew what Hunk meant. 

“You know how his eyes turn yellow sometimes? Is he an alien or something?”

Shiro glanced away from Hunk, taking in a deep breath. There was a certain part of him that brushed it off. It must have been a trick of the light or some other kind of mistake. 

“I don’t actually know what that’s about. I thought I imagined it.”

Hunk shook his head, “Lance has seen it too. I don’t think Keith notices it.”

“I don’t think he does either.”

Shiro knew he should talk to Keith now that he knew he wasn’t the only one seeing it, but how?

“Hey Hunk?” Shiro pushed away the questions in his head, reaching for Hunk’s arm. He felt Hunk tense under his fingers, but slowly relaxed. “Thanks for not freaking out.”

Hunk snorted, “Who said I’m not freaking out?” He pulled Shiro into a hug, which Shiro returned gratefully. “Look, it’s weird okay? I’m really sorry, but it is weird. But… you’re still you. I think the hard part is coping with the fact that merpeople exist to begin with. If anyone in our friend group was going to be the secret merman, it was going to be you. Besides, at least you’re not secretly something ferocious like a werewolf.”

“Yet!”

“Dude, gimme a sec to unpack ‘mermaid’ before you mix it with wolves.” 

They both laughed. 

“Don’t be afraid to ask me questions, okay?” Shiro patted Hunk’s shoulder before heading toward the door.

“Shiro.”

“Mmhm?”

“Are… are werewolves real?”

Shiro shrugged.

\--

That night, Shiro had a nightmare.

Shiro found himself suspended in crystal clear water. Fluorescent lighting highlighted an unnatural amalgamation of fake coral. As it came more into focus, Shiro realized it was a large tank at the local city aquarium. What? He twisted around in the water, swimming toward the top in hopes of escaping, but no matter how hard or long he swam, the rippling surface was always as far away as it ever was. He looked down to see he hadn’t moved at all. Swarms of families pressed their faces to the glass, flashing their cameras and pointing. A child tapped on the glass and it created a deafening vibration through the water. Shiro groaned and held his head, trying to swim away from them. There was nowhere to hide; he was exposed no matter what. 

Then, he spotted Hunk standing at the tank. Cautiously, Shiro swam closer, a relieved smile lifting his cheeks. Hunk’s blank stare didn’t change.

“Hunk!” Somehow, Shiro’s voice carried under water. “Hey, I know it’s weird to see me like this. Can you get me out of here?” 

Hunk’s expression brightened and, for a moment, Shiro thought he could hear. “Hey, Pidge! Lance! Look!” Hunk finally smiled, pointing at Shiro, “This fish came right up to me.”

Lance and Pidge appeared behind Hunk, gasping with delight. Pidge pulled out her phone and started to snap pictures of Shiro. He pounded on the glass, which only sent more of those massive vibrations through the water. He grunted in pain, flailing backward as his friends continued to photograph him. He swam away and spotted Keith standing on the far end of the exhibit. 

“Keith!” Shiro darted over and Keith smiled, walking closer to the glass.

“I wondered when you’d notice me.” Keith beamed up at him and Shiro sighed with relief.

“Can you get me out of here?”

Keith frowned now, reaching up to press his his hand to the glass. “Shiro, you know I love you, but… You know.”

Shiro pressed his hand up to the glass overtop of Keith’s. It was obvious how thick the glass was between them. “Keith, no…”

“You’re the only one of your kind. It’s better if they keep you in here, where you’re safe. This is where you belong, Shiro.”

Shiro shook his head vigorously, “No! Let me out!” He pounded the glass again, gritting his teeth through the vibrations. “I belong with you!”

Shiro continued to pound on the glass, crying out in pain as it felt like every time his fist made contact, he was pounding directly on his brain. 

“Shiro, stop!”

He kept pounding.

“Shiro!”

He pounded harder and the glass cracked.

“Shiro!” 

Shiro opened his eyes to the feeling of Keith shaking his shoulder. He was panting in an old musty cot in the middle of a small cabin at the summer camp where he worked. Keith leaned over him, forehead wrinkled with worry. It was a dream. Just a dream.

“K...eith?” Shiro’s confused tone was saturated with sleepiness. He felt a tear roll down the side of his face. Keith visibly relaxed and bent up to press a long loving kiss to his forehead. His legs hurt, feeling like they’d cramped up.

“You were twitching really bad. Looks like you were having a nightmare.” Keith continued to soothe him by stroking his white bangs backward. 

“I did.” Shiro lifted the top flap of his sleeping bag so he could stretch his legs out, only to get slapped in the face by his own tail fins as they uncurled from their flannel lined prison. No wonder he was so cramped. He sputtered in surprised and he could hear Keith laughing at him quietly. He pushed his fins down to glare sleepily at his boyfriend, but Keith only laughed more and ruffled his messy hair. Shiro let out a small huff and returned to human form before he rolled and cuddled up into him, nosing at the crook of his neck. Keith’s arms seemed to automatically cradle his entire head.

 

“You okay, Shiro?” Pidge’s voice creaked out from her cot on the other side of the cabin. Shiro could feel Keith nod against his head.

“Bad dream,” Keith’s voice was low and heavy with something protective. It made the tension inside of Shiro relax as he felt himself calm down completely. He took in a breath to thank Keith, but he’d fallen back asleep before he got the chance.

\--

It felt like Shiro had only just fallen asleep when the sound of a loud gym whistle snapped him back out of it. Kolivan had gone around to all the units, blasting his whistle until everyone in the camp was unfortunately awake.

The sun wasn’t even up by the time all the challengers made it to the field. There was a low hum of confused tired murmuring and requests for breakfast. 

“Welcome to the first challenge.” Kolivan’s voice boomed through the crowd, “The first event is hiking. Each competitor is to choose a partner. Choose wisely. They may become your competition later in the game.”

Shiro and Keith already had their arms linked. 

“Nope. No no no no.” Lance wagged his finger from across the field. “You two are not allowed to compete together. You’ll just win with the power of your gross love and share the money!”

“What about you two?” Keith snapped back, pointing to Hunk, who was actively hoisting Lance up on his shoulders. “You’ll do the same thing.”

“Pidge and Allura better separate too if that’s the case.”

“Oh, we’re not--” Allura protested as Pidge’s hands flew up to cover a face that had turned a shade redder than her hair. 

“If you have chosen a partner,” Kolivan’s voice had somehow gotten even louder and much more sharp, “You may line up at the starting line. One person on your team will receive a compass and the other will receive a map. You may not share and you must rely on each other to find all of your hidden flags”

After a few more seconds of whispered bickering, the staff had figured out their pairs. Shiro and Pidge, Keith and Hunk, then Allura and Lance stood at the line, all reluctantly ready to go. There was a few seconds of excited silence apart from the cheering spectating campers on the sidelines before Kolivan blew his whistle. Camp Marmora had officially kicked off.

\--

“Okay, so that’s southwest. Meaning… the meadow should be fifty feet that way?” Pidge pointed toward a part in the trees where there was obviously more sunlight filtering through.

“Looks like a meadow to me.” Shiro agreed. He felt kind of bad for the other teams. He had inwardly celebrated when he ended up with Pidge. She was the right balance of critical thinking and competitive spirit. They worked together and communicated really well. Shiro wasn’t about to get cocky, but he was pretty sure they were in first place.

“Nice,” Pidge delivered another fist bump, which Shiro automatically returned. They already had several flags clipped to their belts and they only had two more to go before they could head toward the finish line. The only problem was the fact that Shiro’s legs were starting to hurt again. Shiro knew it may have been a problem, but he refused to let Pidge down. As Pidge jogged ahead, Shiro followed at a brisk walk. No sense hurting himself when they had a lot of time. 

“Hey Shiro,” Pidge shielded her eyes from the sun once they made it to the clearing. They’d both spotted their lime green flag flip-flopping on a boulder in the summer breeze. 

“What’s up?” Shiro crossed off the location of the flag on his map before getting oriented for the last flag. It was in what looked like a cave next to the creek. Shiro was pretty sure he knew where that was.

“What were you and Hunk talking about yesterday morning?”

Shiro felt his ears go hot and cold at the same time, “Oh!” He watched Pidge clip the flag to her belt and lead them off toward the creek, “He… accidentally found something of mine from the past.”

Pidge turned a confused frown toward him. “Shiro, are you telling me you have dark secrets?”

Shiro snorted, “Not dark ones, but I promise they’re interesting.” He pushed aside some brush so that Pidge could pass underneath, “I wanna tell you guys someday, but… it’s really hard.”

“Shiro, I hate to burst your bubble, but we already know you’re gay.” Pidge deadpanned as she gave him a hand over some rocks. Shiro burst out laughing. He wished it was that simple. There were plenty of gay people to fall back on and exactly zero merpeople.

“Damn! The secret’s out!”

They shared a chuckle as they descended a natural shelf of rock carefully. They ended up back on the main trail that followed along the creek. Shiro recognized this as the beginning of the lake trail. The entrance to the trail, and subsequently the finish line, were about a half mile away. They were almost done. Oddly enough, the cave containing their last flag was the same cave Shiro hid inside the night Keith found out what he was.

“I’ll run up and get the flag and then we’ll be done!” Pidge grinned up Shiro before running up the hill. While Shiro waited, he could hear footsteps approaching quickly. Another team was on their way. Uh oh, they had to hurry or they would lose their lead. 

“Hey, Pidge? Finding it okay?” Shiro stepped forward, but his footing slipped on a muddy rock and he found himself sliding backwards toward the creek. He flailed forward, trying to catch himself on the bank, but his easily lost his hold on the muddy slope and plopped helplessly into the creek. Okay, he wasn’t excessively wet. Maybe he could ride out the urge to transform. 

Don’t change, Shiro. Don’t change. Don’t.

Shiro could feel the skin on his legs prickle with the scales that were trying to form. His neck burned, feeling his gills open up. He had to get out of the water. He pushed his eyes closed as he forced himself to his legs. They were throbbing with pain and he let out a grunt of distress. His skin felt like it was ready to split open. Was that blood running down his leg or water? He grit his teeth, his spine tightening up as it begged him to elongate into the rest of his skeleton.

“Shiro!”

Shiro opened his eyes, vision blurry. He could see Keith’s outline sliding down the bank and into the water. Tears ran down Shiro’s cheeks as his legs gave up, dropping him back into the water. Keith’s arms flew around his waist in an attempt to slow his fall.

“Just let it happen, baby. Don’t hurt yourself.” Keith soothed.

“Pidge is…”

“Shiro, are you okay?” Pidge slid down the bank after Keith and stopped still like she’d hit an invisible wall when her eyes found him. Well, that’s one less person he had to tell. 

Shiro’s hands were webbed and covered with fine black scales. He knew his legs looked similar. There was no sense hiding and he allowed himself to change the rest of the way. He looked anxiously in the direction of Pidge to see her reaction. As he suspected, her mouth was wide open in shock. Hunk slid down the bank after them and couldn’t help but stare as well. It was probably still weird to see. 

“Pidge, I know this is--”

“I fucking knew it!” Pidge’s astonishment turned into a victorious grin. “I had all the pieces. I just had to put them all tog--”

“Pidge please! Can we get him out of the water?” Keith insisted. It seemed if she wasn’t going to be upset about it, he had no time for her.

“You want me to touch his…?” It must have actually hit Pidge that Shiro was a real merman. 

“Come on!” Keith growled through his teeth. “It’s still Shiro. You can freak out later.”

“Keith, it’s okay. You still have the lead if you go.” Shiro insisted. He wasn’t as determined to win as Keith was. 

“Shiro, I’m not going to just leave you here.”

“I’ll be okay! When the race is over, you guys can come back for me.”

“It’s fine! I have to learn to deal with stuff like this.” It looked like Keith’s tone was more harsh than he intended because he looked down in shame. 

The damage was already done. Guilt and dread flopped over in Shiro’s stomach. His biggest fear was holding Keith back. What kind of life would Keith have had if he constantly had to backtrack so Shiro could keep up with him? He went quiet, allowing Hunk to pull him out of the water. Pidge gathered up his shorts and shoes that had been pushed off as he changed. Once he was on the bank, they got to work drying him off.

Pidge pulled a small hand towel from her backpack and that, teamed with Keith and Hunk’s t-shirts, dried Shiro off relatively quickly. At least enough that he could change back and get dressed again. While they dried, they could hear two teams jog past on the trail above. 

“Keith! Hunk! Third and fourth place is already up for grabs. Let’s roll.” Shiro insisted. 

“We still need one last flag.” Protested Hunk. Pidge pointed toward the cave to show them where it was. 

Shiro smirked a little, “You guys better start running then.”

With that, he grabbed Pidge’s hand and started to jog off down the path. He heard a grunt of protest from Keith and the sound of scrambling over rock. Even with their headstart, Shiro’s legs were aching and Pidge’s legs were small. It didn’t take long for Keith and Hunk to catch up to them, gaining on them as they exited the trail and toward the finish line. Shiro glanced at them and smiled, pressing onward. He could address his leg pain later. For now, he decided to pick Pidge up and carry her like a princess toward the line. He pushed farther, Keith gaining on him. Through screams of determination from both of them, they both crossed. Shiro was entirely unsure of who won, but the point was that they both qualified for the next day’s challenge. Shiro inwardly vowed to do everything in his power not to hold Keith back anymore.


	3. Pidge's Interview

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for Fluke's version of mermaid anatomy. Pidge has a lot of questions. Hunk is Hunk in the best way possible. 
> 
> Shiro starts to realize he's not the only one with a secret.

That night, Shiro needed to swim. Two summers ago, he would have done it alone or sometimes with Allura. One summer ago, it would have been Keith. Now he was accompanied by Pidge. She wanted to know everything he could tell her about merpeople and, after a rapid series of questions, he added the condition that she could only ask them one at a time.

Shiro laid himself out on a rock hanging over the lake’s surface, letting his tail sway in the water below. It felt better than any foot massage could.

“So, how does the transformation work? Like, do your legs fuse together? Where are your knees? What’s going on with your spine in all this?” 

Shiro snorted as Pidge sat down next to him. “Hey, I said one question at a time.”

“Sorry.” Pidge sat down on the rock next to him, staring at his tail, studying it. 

“It’s a little of both,” he took one of his pectoral fins and turned it out so that Pidge could feel it and examine it. She took it carefully in her hands, feeling along the hard ridge that kept its shape. “That’s what my leg bones turns into.”

Pidge dropped the fin, “That’s your leg?” She looked up Shiro, eyes pleading for it to be a joke, but Shiro only sat up so he could show her easier. He grabbed his phone and Googled a diagram of a fish, pointing to its spine.

“My spine elongates all the way down the tail… I think some of the leg bone gets absorbed into that too? Coran took a lot of x-rays one day and we tried to piece it together. The muscle and soft tissue from my legs turns into the rest of the tail.”

“That’s a lot of mass to condense into legs. How do they not hurt when you’re on land?”

“They do.”

“That explains why you walk like a ballerina.”

Shiro’s eyebrows were in danger of lifting right off his face with how high he raised them, “I what?”

“That’s honestly what made me suspect you were were the mermaid last summer. You’re so light on your feet.” She put her hand where his thigh would have been, “It’s not hurting now, is it?”

Shiro shook his head. “Feels good now.”

“I wouldn’t take human form unless you really have to. Especially now that almost everyone knows.”

Shiro was starting to hear this more and more, but the thought didn’t bring him comfort. It just confirmed his worry that his legs wouldn’t be usable for much longer. What if he could no longer take human form at all some day? With no other merpeople to fall back on, it was an incredibly isolating feeling. What if Keith decided they were too different to ever be happy together? He tried to reassure himself, but Keith’s comment from the race kept bouncing around his head. Keith was already making concessions for him.

“You don’t seem too excited about that idea.” Pidge added, studying his face. 

“Well, I fell in love with a human. It’s not like we’re going to be able to take a honeymoon in Atlantis.”

“Is Keith human?” Pidge turned, pulling her t-shirt off to reveal the forest green one-piece bathing suit underneath. 

“Hunk said the same thing and now I’m not sure at all.” Shiro scooted toward the edge of the rock and let himself fall into the water the rest of the way. He reached up to help Pidge into the water. She stared at his webbed hands for only a moment before taking his arms and using them to slide safely into the lake. 

“Wait,” Pidge grabbed Shiro’s right bicep where his prosthesis was attached. “Not to change the subject from your alien boyfriend because we are absolutely getting back to that but,” she squeezed the wetsuit-like material on his mechanical palm. “Where did you get this hand? It’s incredible!”

“Alfor gave it to me when I was younger. It feels like a real arm.” Now that Shiro thought of it, he was a lot smaller when he first got it, but he never had to have it adjusted or changed. It just… always fit.

“Shiro, everything about you is incredible and you’re trying so hard to be the most boring person ever.” Pidge shoved his arm back at him and patted his cheek before taking hold of the rock to rest her legs.

Shiro snorted, “I’d love to be boring.” He saw a ripple in the water in the distance, “To just… be normal for a day,” another big ripple, “and not have to worry,” something wide and fanlike broke the surface. Another mermaid?

“Pidge, I’ll be right back. Hold tight.” 

Shiro darted under the surface and shot toward the direction of the rippling. A distinct form took shape under the water; a long creature with large fins. It was much too big to be any kind of fish that lived in the lake. Shiro surfaced for a moment to get his bearings and watched the form in the distance. Then, he saw a very distinctly human looking head pop out of the water. He gasped. There was no doubt that this was another mermaid. 

“E-Excuse me!” Shiro tried to sound polite and non-threatening. He didn’t want to scare them away. The head turned towards him and froze. Shiro could see what seemed to be wet hair stuck to the sides of their face, but it was about the only feature he could make out.

“You’re like me, right? Can I come closer?” Shiro continued to swim, moving much slower now so he didn’t scare them off. He kept his eyes on them, inching closer and closer. “My name is Shiro.”

The other merperson was watching him now. Slowly, they started to cautiously swim closer. Shiro let the bioluminescent scales on his sides light up, hoping it would make him look more friendly. The lights instantly caught the other mer’s eyes and they backed up. Their eyes widened with alarm before their mouth cracked open to reveal a long set of fangs. Shiro stopped swimming. They let out a shrieking hiss that made the hair on the back of Shiro’s head stand up before diving under the water and darting away. For a moment, Shiro considered going after them, but they obviously wanted to be left alone.

\--

“You saw another mermaid?” The bite of bagel in Allura’s mouth fell right out. 

“Definitely,” Shiro confirmed, rubbing his thumb over the handle of his fork. He didn’t have much of an appetite and he wasn’t sure if it was out of anxiety or excitement. He wasn’t alone. “And I don’t think they liked me.”

“Shiro, that’s incredible news!” She reached out to take his wrist and squeezed, filling him up with an encouraging smile.

“Is it? They hissed at me and swam away. They had fangs!” He pointed at his own mouth, “I don’t have fangs. What if merpeople are evil? What if I grow fangs one day?”

Keith shrugged, “Maybe they’re a different kind of mermaid. There are different species of fish. Maybe you look like the mermaid equivalent of a shark or something.”

Shiro thought it over for a moment and nodded slowly, “Makes sense. I don’t actually know anything about mermaid culture. Maybe I gave them the mermaid finger or something.”

“We talking about mermaids again?” Lance interrupted, setting his breakfast tray down as he sat down next to Allura. “I thought that was two summers ago.”

“Actually,” Pidge plopped a manilla envelope on the table that just had Alien Stuff written in black permanent marker on the front, “we’re talking about aliens.”

The staff table groaned. Shiro darted a glance at Keith who was blissfully tearing a tough strip of bacon from his fork. Was he an alien?

“Just hear me out.” Pidge dumped out the envelope and spread out a few photos and articles. One of the newspaper clippings looked old and worn. “Check out this photo. Just a clear sky right?” She pointed to a photo that looked like it was from a camper’s roll of disposable film. Oddly enough though, there is a patch of cloud that looks normal except for a point where it cuts off very abruptly. It’s just a small portion of the cloud, but the line is too sharp to be natural. 

“One of mother nature’s wonders? Or a cloaking device?” Pidge handed out the old newspaper clipping as well. It was a report from the mid 90s where a local farmer explained the strange light he saw over the property. There was another clipping from a few months later announcing the summer camp that was built in the same place as the sighting. 

“The camp was built in the exact same place as the sighting?” Keith picked up the clippings and compared them while Shiro peaked over his shoulder. Both pictures definitely pictured land from Camp Arus. 

Pidge nodded, “Exactly. There may not be aliens here now, but there definitely were and there’s bound to be evidence somewhere.”

Shiro looked up at Pidge who met him with eye-contact. Somehow Keith tied into this, but how? Pidge seemed to know exactly what he was thinking because she nodded at him, gesturing at Keith with her eyes. 

\--

The next challenge was later that afternoon. Kolivan handed each of the competitors a map that marked out a fairly simple trail. Even running beginners could jog out the course in under an hour. Shiro bubbled with a bit of confidence. If he paced himself well, he had a good chance of winning this one. 

“There is a catch.” Kolivan walked over to the trailer bed behind him and pulled away a large canvas cloth to reveal a rack full of metal canoes. “Each runner must carry a canoe on their shoulders through the duration of the race. Due to the limited number of canoes and varying shapes and sizes of contestants, the racers will go out in three groups: Heavy, Middle, and Light. Once your race is over, you’re welcome to walk along the trail and encourage your friends, but any interference will lead to disqualification for both contestants. The best two times from each group will move on to the next challenge.”

Shiro and Hunk ended up in the first group with some of the larger and stronger campers. Shiro was still pretty confident. Upper body was his strength and he was able to balance the overturned canoe on his shoulders at the center. It was surprisingly easy to carry once he found the perfect balance. He glanced over at Hunk, who was struggling a bit, but starting to come to the same conclusion. 

“Good luck, Hunk!” Shiro shifted his balance to give the other boy a thumbs up which Hunk returned with a small grunt of effort. 

The race was off and Shiro started out at a steady jog. Today, he remembered to put on a pair of waterproof leggings that fit nicely under his running shorts. If any creeks or puddles decided to sneak up on him, he was ready. 

As he ran, he could hear Keith, Pidge, Allura, and Lance cheering them on. This was Shiro’s moment to prove to Keith that he wouldn’t hold him back.

The race turned out to be relatively uneventful. His shoulders did start to fatigue with the weight of the canoe after a few minutes, but it was nowhere near unbearable. After his long swim in the lake the night before, his legs felt fine. Everyone was right. As much as he hated to admit it, he was a lot healthier in mer form. 

Shiro was on the final stretch of the race. Hunk occasionally closed the gap between them and even surpassed him every once in a while. They had long overtaken the campers in their group and as long as they were the first two to cross the finish line, they’d both qualify. Since neither of them were abnormally competitive, this lowered the stakes a good bit. 

There was one final challenge for the trail. There was a steep hill that would have been a tricky climb even without something heavy to weigh them down. On top of that, it was slippery with mud. It looked a small stream from the creek trickled right through it, saturating the entire path. Shiro silently thanked himself for wearing the waterproof leggings. 

“Oh… jeez.” Hunk sighed through heavy breaths at the sight of it. Without giving himself time to think about it, Hunk made a run for it. He powered through amazingly. Instead of slipping on the mud, he trudged up it, using the shelves his shoes made to stabilize him to the top. He screamed the entire time, but he made it. Incredible.

Hunk stopped at the top, setting the nose of his canoe on the ground so he could rest. “Come on, Shiro! Don’t think about it! Just go.”

Shiro sent a tired smile up at his friend and ran at the hill. He slipped almost immediately, digging his canoe and his chest into the mud. He face planted a moment and he felt his muscles tense up. He was wet, but it wasn’t bad. He could fight it.

“Get up, Shiro!” Hunk’s voice called to him.

Shiro pushed himself up to his knees and lifted his canoe back up onto his shoulders. Hunk stood, bent over as he cheered him on.

“Come on, buddy. I’m not allowed to help you, but I can encourage you.” Hunk pumped his fist. “You’re not going to turn into a merman, either. You have your waterproof leggings and mud is not going to stop you!”

Though Shiro could feel the familiar prickling on his skin of scales ready to grow on his arms, his legs did feel perfectly fine. They wouldn’t go out on him. 

“You’re really strong, Shiro. Just push!”

So, Shiro pushed. He dug his feet in, dug his knees in. He grunted and groaned and his legs started to throb a little, but he was so focused on reaching the top that he couldn’t change if he wanted to. Before he knew it, he had reached the top and Hunk erupted in applause. 

Shiro set his canoe down and rolled onto his back, catching his breath. He felt okay. He felt his skin stop prickling. He felt the scales recede and his ears return to their normal shape. He not only got up the hill, but he resisted the change. He grinned and sat back up, taking a hand up from Hunk before they both got their canoes back onto their backs. It would take the campers a little time to get up the hill, so they paced themselves.

The finish line was buzzing by the time they made it. Shiro crossed the line first, followed closely by Hunk. He couldn’t be certain, but he was pretty sure Hunk let him win. Shiro had barely set his canoe back on the rack before Keith was on him. 

“You’re covered in mud!” Keith took his arm, brushing mud from his arm to check for any scales or fins underneath, “Are you okay? Did you change?” He lifted Shiro’s chin to get a good look at his neck. It was clear of any gills.

Shiro beamed proudly, “I didn’t! Hunk helped me through it.”

Keith smiled with relief and leaned up to peck his muddy lips. “I’m proud of you. Must have taken a lot of strength.”

Shiro shrugged, “I just wanted you to see that I won’t slow you down.”

Keith’s smile dropped and his hands fell away from him. “Shiro... no.” He took Shiro’s hands and squeezed them as he shook his head, voice lowing to almost a whisper. “What I said yesterday… It came out wrong and I shouldn’t have said it. I didn’t mean that you slow me down or hold me back in any way. All I could think about was how incredible you are. I got really absorbed in the challenge. I get absorbed in a lot of challenges. It was a reminder to myself that you’re more important than any challenge. That sometimes my fantastic boyfriend turns into a fish and he can cast spells with his voice and enchant boys with his sweet grey eyes.” Keith cupped Shiro’s muddy cheeks and let out an exasperated sigh, “It’s mind-blowing that you feel inadequate even in the slightest. God, Shiro, you’re beyond words.”

“Kogane!” Kolivan’s voice split through their tender moment, “Are you participating?”

Keith jumped away from Shiro like he was suddenly made of hot iron and ran for his canoe, hoisting it onto his shoulders. It took him a moment to get oriented before the next wave of racers took off. This group had Keith, Allura, and Lance. Lance was already struggling and Allura looked like her canoe was made of styrofoam. It didn’t bother her at all.

Shiro was a little paralyzed with affection, holding his own shoulders like a dope in love. He felt like he could run two canoes up the hill.

\--

Shiro and Hunk decided to wait at the top of the hill to cheer on the rest of the competitors. Part of it was to encourage their friends. The other part was to revel in their misery. It sure was nice at the top. 

Unsurprisingly, Allura and Keith were first. Allura’s attempt at the hill went well until she slipped and skidded down the muddy path on her side. She growled in frustration and turned her canoe over, shoving it up the incline and powering through the mud like dune buggy. At the top of the hill, her rage brought the canoe back up over her head like a baton before resting neatly on her shoulders, almost taking out Shiro and Hunk’s heads in the process. She jogged toward the finish line.

Keith had a bit more trouble. He tried to run through like Allura did, but each attempt ended with him flat on his face with his canoe sliding pathetically down the hill. Shiro watched his eyes carefully as he struggled. Yep. Definitely yellow.

“You can do it, baby! Just relax and think. You have a good lead on everyone else.” Shiro encouraged. Keith smiled tiredly up at him and got back up, trying to run back up the hill and finding the same problem. Shiro started to pay attention to the way Keith was trying to climb. Each time he fell, it seemed like his knees were buckling under him. Not just his knees, but his legs seamed weaker with every attempt. Shiro quirked an eyebrow and looked closer.

“Try going up on just your knees. Use your toes and shins for leverage.” Shiro suggested. Keith grunted in reply before Shiro added, “There’s a nice kiss waiting for you at the top of his hill.”

Keith looked up at Shiro and grinned, exposing the dark bangs clumped with dirt and sweat that clung to his forehead. He got down to his knees and started to climb. By now, the rest of the group had caught up and were trying their own attempts. It was a mess. Campers bottlenecked at the bottom while the others tried to climb. Keith seemed to ignore them as best he could and focused on getting his kiss.

As promised, when Keith reached the top, Shiro’s arm found his waist and pulled him to his muddy chest. Keith’s canoe sheltered them from onlookers as they shared a deep loving kiss for several seconds. When they parted, Shiro patted Keith’s butt.

“Better hurry to that finish line, hotshot.”

Keith smiled and nodded, going as fast as his tired legs would carry. Shiro turned to Hunk, who was frowning down the hill. 

“Come on, Lance. I can’t help you carry it or I’ll get disqualified.” Hunk whined down at Lance, who had turned his canoe over at the bottom of the hill and plopped down in it. Camper after camper were making it to the top and hoping to make it past Keith. Others had given up like Lance and were laying in various spots on the ground.

“Sorry, Hunk. This is my home now.” Lance decided dramatically, draping his legs over the side of the boat. 

Hunk rolled his eyes, “Unbelievable.”

\--

When Shiro returned to the hot spring that night, Hunk, Pidge and Keith were already there. He let out a small hum. He sort of wanted to talk to Keith about his eyes tonight. Plus, there was that part where he’d have to change in front of his friends.

“Shiro! Welcome.” Pidge beckoned him closer, “If you want us to go, we can.” She gestured to Hunk who nodded in agreement.

“Oh, you guys are okay… just… Can you look away for a second?” Shiro smiled a bit bashfully. Both Pidge and Hunk nodded before getting out of the spring and turning their backs. Shiro thanked them and undressed as quickly as he could before stepping into the water. His body took aquatic form quickly as if it missed it. Shiro was beginning to understand why. As soon as he was settled, Keith found his lap automatically while Pidge and Hunk came back into the water.

“I have to ask, Shiro,” Pidge reclined comfortably against the rock ledge, legs crossed, “What parts of the Mermaid of Lake Altea story were true and which were a myth?”

Shiro looked to the sky as he thought about it. “Well, obviously the part where I’m a man; that’s a myth… The whole thing was actually a misunderstanding. Keith was--”

“Wait, it was Keith the whole time?” Pidge shot an accusatory glare toward Keith, who tensed up in Shiro’s arms.

“He erased my memory!”

“You erased his memory?!”

“I was ten!”

“That is so sad.” Hunk shook his head, letting his feet float to the surface. 

“I thought Keith was telling me to stay away from him, but he was actually telling me to stay still so he could get a present he made for me.” Shiro explained, “I misunderstood and used a spell to erase his memory of me so he wouldn’t tell anyone, but he ended up falling for me again and… I honestly never stopped falling for him.” He smiled down at Keith who gave him a smile of his own.

Pidge made a gagging noise. “God, you’re so cute,” she muttered in disgust. 

“Once I saw Shiro’s tail again, my memories came back.” Keith squirmed around until his back was against Shiro’s chest, laying his head back against his shoulder. He reached for Shiro’s hand and rubbed his thumb over the back of it slowly with the growth of his his scales. Shiro rested his hand on Keith’s thigh, but his fingers brushed over something strange: a raised patch of skin along the side of his leg. Shiro tilted his head to see what looked like a stripe of pink skin trail up his leg, along his spine and neck, and end in a point around his right cheek. He frowned, pressing his fingers into the mark gently.

“Is that sore?” Shiro asked. 

Keith looked down at the mark on his leg and gasped, squirming in Shiro’s lap as he tried to follow its path up his body. “What the…” Keith looked down into the water to look at his reflection on the surface and rubbed at his face. Shiro could see that the whites of his eyes had turned yellow again and, this time, they were glowing.

“What?” Keith blinked a few times, rubbing his cheek harder. “No!” 

Keith squirmed out of Shiro’s arms and moved to the rocky edge of the spring before crawling out. Shiro tried to reach him before he got out, but Keith was too fast.

“Keith! H-Hold on a second!” Shiro pulled himself onto the ledge, but Keith had already grabbed his things and took off into the woods.


	4. Out of the Bag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro and Keith are in some desperate need of stress relief. Keith learns more about himself than he'd like to know, but not enough about himself that he questions he has about himself get answered.   
> Shiro learns that other merpeople are kind of dicks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the fucky chapter.

Keith didn’t hide. Shiro found him in the small staff cabin on their pair of cots they had pushed together. When Shiro entered, Keith hastily put a small hand mirror back in his cubby and pulled out a pack of cards. Keith met his gaze with a forced smile.

“Keith, there you are,” Shiro sighed with relief and stepped closer. Keith turned his lantern lower and patted the space beside him.

“Wanna play cards?” His smile remained. His eyes were back to normal. The redness on his skin had faded to a faint trace.

Shiro sensed that Keith was trying to avoid the topic desperately and sat down with him. “Got anything in mind?”

“Not really,” Keith admitted, lifting his eyes to meet Shiro’s, “I love you.” The statement lifted upward, almost as if it were a question.

“I love you too!” Shiro assured him through a laugh. He cupped the back of his head and pulled him closer so he could kiss his forehead. He felt Keith relax under him. “So much.” He added in a whisper.

“Thank you,” Keith whispered back, “Crazy eights?”

Shiro nodded.

\--

Shiro loved how Keith felt. From the inches of warm bare skin, damp with sweat, to the softness of his black hair. When he was inside Keith, it was a perfect fit. 

Shiro pushed Keith harder against the thin mattress, earning himself an elongated grunt from his bed partner. 

“Shhh,” Shiro’s hand cupped around Keith’s mouth to quiet him. It was the middle of the afternoon and Pidge agreed to do an activity with their unit’s kids while they released a little stress. In return, Shiro agreed to sneak her in some McDonald’s the next time he went into town. 

Keith’s hands wrapped around Shiro’s bicep, squeezing as he thrust his pelvis upward to bury Shiro deeper inside him. Keith rolled his eyes back, letting out a muffled moan through Shiro’s hand. A shot of pre-come escaped Keith’s erection, painting his tummy. Shiro moved his hand away from Keith’s mouth so he could kiss it. 

“Question,” Shiro whispered, pushing deeper with each short thrust, “Do you prefer my human penis... or my merman penis?”

Keith let out a growl of frustration, looking ready to hit him and laugh at the same time. The latter won out and he snorted, shaking his head. “Is now a...mmmh, good time to ask?”

“I mean! They’re both my dick so either answer won’t upset me.”

“Shhhh!” Now Keith’s hand clamped over Shiro’s mouth. “I dunno… human one, I think.”

“Oh…”

“Hhhhh! What…?”

“Is the merman one, uh… too freakish?”

“You said you wouldn’t get upset!”

“Shhh!”

“God, Shiro! Get off my d—nnhhg!” Shiro interrupted Keith by kissing him. Keith pounded his fist hard on the mattress, kissing him back like he was trying to kill him with his lips. He bit Shiro’s bottom lip and came, grabbing his hair from the back and arching upward. Shiro wasn’t far behind him once he felt his boyfriend’s warm semen hit his chest. 

Keith’s sweet little whine when Shiro’s come filled him made his touch soften. In turn, Keith’s hand moved from his short black hair to his cheek, cupping it and rubbing his thumb over his cheekbone. 

“You’re such a perfect dipshit.” Keith whispered, brushing Shiro’s sweaty white bangs backward so he could look into his eyes. “You gorgeous gorgeous man.”

Shiro smiled and leaned down to kiss Keith’s forehead. Part of him wondered if he liked to piss off Keith during sex or if it just always worked out that way.

“You’re so fucking hot,” Shiro whispered in reply before slowly pulling out. Keith let out a small grunt and settled himself. 

“For the record,” Keith snuggled up to Shiro as he laid down next to him, “I like your fish dick, too. It’s just a little much sometimes, y’know? It’s really long and fits everywhere and it’s amazing when I feel kinky, but… your human dick is a nice, everyday dick.”

Shiro snorted, having started to press little kisses all over Keith’s face. “A good ol’ fashioned penis, yeah?”

“Mmmhm. Hey, maybe when I fully transform into whatever hideous alien creature I secretly am, I’ll be able to take your monster dick.”

Shiro’s expression fell, holding Keith a little tighter. “I hope you grow tentacles.” He joked, “I think I deserve as much.”

Keith laughed, but his hold around Shiro tightened too. He felt Keith sigh against him, “Guess we should clean up and go back out there, huh?” 

“Not if you got another one in you.”

Keith tilted his head to look at Shiro, lifting one eyebrow. 

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

—

That evening, Kolivan lead the competitors to Lake Altea. Shiro was glad he wore his waterproof leggings once more as he realized he was leading them toward the docks where six kayaks were waiting for the remaining contestants. Shiro felt his stomach drop. If he fell in the water, all the waterproof clothes in the world wouldn’t help him. 

“Maybe you should sit this out,” Keith’s hand found Shiro’s arm as if he’d been reading his mind. 

Shiro frowned, glancing between the kayak and Keith before shaking his head. “I’m doing it.”

“Are you sure?”

No, he wasn’t, “Afraid I’ll beat you?”

Keith gently bumped his hip against Shiro’s, “You wish.”

A crowd of campers had gathered at the shore to cheer the others on. In the competition, there was only one camper left among Shiro, Keith, Pidge, Allura, and Hunk. The kid was a stout burly seventeen year old from Montana. They were pretty sure he’d fought a bear at least once. 

Shiro managed to get himself into his kayak safely and shifted from side to side to get a feel for how it handled. Convinced there was little to no chance of tipping over, he paddled his way over to the starting line. He was pretty confident he had a chance. Swimming every night made his arms strong and his reach was always good. 

Once the race started, he tossed a competitive wink Keith’s way before taking off. Shiro didn’t kayak much. He didn’t see the point in traveling in a small boat when he could swim much faster. He knew the basics of kayaking and, once he got into a good rhythm, managed to pull to the front of the group. He could hear the campers from his unit cheer him on and it only boosted his confidence. He smiled, pushing a little harder as he passed up first place. He overtook Keith from the lead, giving a kind of cheeky wave as he passed.

They were almost near the docks when he felt something press on the end of his kayak. He frowned as he glanced backward, not able to see anything obvious at first. His kayak slowed dramatically and tipped, dangerously close to rolling over entirely. Shiro tried to paddle harder, but there was something under his kayak preventing him from going fast. He looked in the water, realizing there was a hand braced on either side of the boat. There was an inhuman shade to the skin. Was it blue? Purple? It looked almost lavender, but in the dusk light, it was hard to tell. 

The next thing Shiro knew, his kayak had rolled entirely over, spilling him into the water. He heard Keith call his name as his leggings and shorts burst from his lower half. He twisted free of the kayak, almost pushing it into the air with the sheer force of his fins growing out from inside it. What was he supposed to do? If he surfaced, he risked exposure. If he stayed under, the campers would think he had drowned.

Shiro turned around in the water to try and get a good look at the merperson who pulled him under. They were long, much longer than Shiro. Their tail reflected back scales of deep purple, but Shiro didn’t look at it long enough because he was distracted by a faint yellow glow coming from their face. The whites of their eyes were completely yellow and glowing. They blinked a few times, causing the glow to fade as they studied Shiro as much as he was examining them. Slowly, cautiously, Shiro swam closer, gradually extending his hand in a friendly offer to take hands.

A splash from the surface interrupted them, causing the merperson to dart away back into the darkness. Shiro turned to look at the dock and hissed under the water. Shit, they forgot to tell Lance, who thought he hated water for one reason or another. Lance was heroically doing a graceful frog stroke toward Shiro, who rolled his eyes and swam up to meet him. Once more of Shiro’s body came into view, Lance froze in place. Shiro stopped in front of him and sighed as he straightened out, gesturing up and down his body as if to say, “yeah, get a good look.”

Then, Shiro pointed toward the surface and Lance nodded eagerly, ready to get a breath of air. Shiro surfaced after Lance so that his head was hidden by the kayak. He stared Lance in the eyes for several seconds, wondering what was going on in his mind. He’d had a lot of positive reactions from his other friends, but maybe Lance wouldn’t take it so well.

Lance stared at Shiro for what felt like almost a minute. Despite only the top half of his head exposed, he felt like he was on display. This feeling was only amplified when Lance’s eyes would be occasionally caught by the bioluminescent scales swaying with the rest of his tail to keep him surfaced. Then, Lance cautiously reached a hand out, palm open as he slowly brought it down to the fin lined tip of his pointed ear. Shiro got a chill and shivered and Lance jerked his hand back apologetically.

Lance peeked around the side of the kayak before outstretching his arms to Shiro, who looked absolutely befuddled by the gesture.

“Pretend to be unconscious.” Lance whispered. Shiro frowned in confusion, but suddenly realized it was the best option to get him out of the water and the space he needed to change back privately.

He nodded, letting himself go limp in Lance’s arms with his eyes securely closed. Lance’s hold on him was firm and confident, especially for someone who just found out his friend was a merman. Shiro was grateful for it, though. 

“Everyone clear out! He’s not breathing!” Lance shouted breathily. Shiro kicked his tail as subtly as possible to give him a little help. He heard a grateful sigh pant out from Lance’s chest.

“What?!” Shiro heard Keith almost shriek from the docks. “Lance, if he’s dead, I’ll kill you!”

Shiro almost broke character at the smile that threatened to crack his lips.

“How would that be my fault?”

Shiro could hear Kolivan telling the other counselors to take the children back to their units. He heard the cheering quiet down as he willed them not to see him. Eventually, he felt his dorsal fin brush the sandy shore and Lance’s grip fall away. He cracked one eye open to see that everyone had just about cleared away including, curiously enough, Kolivan. Wouldn’t he want to see that one of his staff members was okay? Shiro was annoyed, but overall grateful he didn’t have to make up some excuse.

Shiro eventually opened his eyes fully once he was sure everyone was gone. There, standing over him, was all of his friends. Keith was closest, kneeling next to his head. He offered Shiro a worried smile as he reached down to push some wet hair away from his face.

“What happened? You were in the lead!” Pidge protested, squatting down next to him as he sat up. Shiro arched forward and peeled off his soaking wet t-shirt so that his fins could fan out completely. 

“The merperson I saw the other night,” Shiro stared out at the water again, hoping to see a tailfin crest or any indication that they were still nearby. “They flipped my kayak.”

Shiro turned to look behind Hunk to meet Lance’s eyes. Lance, for the first time in his life, looked like he was wishing he was invisible. “Thank you for jumping in after me. You knew I was afraid of touching water.”

Lance looked down, looking like there was something important he wanted to say, but couldn’t will his mouth to say it. Shiro knew the feeling well. 

“Well,” Lance finally looked up, meeting Shiro’s eyes as well, “You’re welcome, but… Sorry I…”

Shiro shook his head, waving his hand dismissively, “Don’t be sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you properly. You’re kind of the last one to know.”

“Wait, what?” Lance scooted closer in the sand, frowning. “Shiro, you know I love water and merpeople and stuff!” He huffed, shaking his head, “I thought you knew me, man.”

Shiro chuckled, “I asked the others not to say anything to anyone. They all found out accidentally.”

Lance nodded slowly, taking the information in. He was quiet for a few moments before he finally asked, “Can I touch your fins?”

“NO?” Keith interrupted, frowning harshly at Lance as he chopped his hand down between them. “Leave him be.”

“I’m still getting used to everyone knowing.” Shiro admitted. Someday he would let everyone get the touching and pulling out of their system.

“You said there are other merpeople?”

Shiro shrugged, “I’ve only ever seen one other and they don’t seem to like me.”

\--

Down by the latrines, Shiro found himself exhausted as he brushed his teeth. One of the girls in his unit was dealing with a little homesickness and Shiro volunteered to tell her and the girls in her cabin a few stories to lull them to sleep. It was nearly midnight by the time Shiro had a chance to get ready for bed. He had a lot to think about. Now that all of his friends knew what he was, he had to figure out if it was a good thing. You can’t un-find something out. Well, Shiro did know how to erase memories, but he wasn’t going to. 

He bent to spit his toothpaste into the water trough, twisting the rusty spigot with a familiar squeak he’d known his whole childhood. It would be like losing a sixth sense if someone took a can of WD-40 to this camp. 

Shiro turned to walk back toward the campfire where the rest of the staff was relaxing and bumped into someone even taller than himself.

“Oh--! Sorry!” This interjection popped out of Shiro’s chest like a frightened goat, high pitched and shaky. Kolivan stared down stiffly as if the bigger man were another tree: An incredibly pissed off, constipated tree.

“What is your intention?” Kolivan asked, intentionally blocking the path back to camp. Shiro took a deliberate step backward, shaking his head in confusion.

“Intention? With what? I was just here to brush my t--”

“Why are you always so close to Keith?” Kolivan demanded. He didn’t raise his voice, but something about him was louder.

The question took him by surprise and Shiro needed a few seconds to scrounge an answer together.

“He’s my boyfriend…?” Shiro’s mechanical hand found its way to a fist. What did this guy want with Keith?

Kolivan’s eyes narrowed as if his gaze was trying to stab through him. 

“Why do you want to know?” Shiro pressed, fixing a fearless glare back at Kolivan. He wanted to know what he knew, but he couldn’t elect very much to get that information. Did Kolivan know why Keith’s eyes flashed yellow? Or why stripes were starting to appear on his skin? 

Kolivan looked like he was ready to formulate words that would absolutely crush Shiro. His lips flexed into a thin line, “I know all about people like you. Manipulative, tricksters, cheats, li--”

“Really? Because I don’t even know about people like me. I grew up alone until Alfor came along.”

Kolivan’s mouth clamped shut once more. Shiro could not read his expression if his life depended on it. 

Shiro’s face relaxed along with his tone of voice, “Keith means everything to me, so if you could shed some light on what’s going on, he’d appreciate it. He’s getting scared.”

Kolivan’s expression didn’t change, but after a few moments, he let out a short, “Hmmf,” through his nose and walked back down the path.


	5. The Stakeout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro decides to find the mermaid once and for all while Keith discovers something on his own that will change their lives forever. Maybe they'll find some aliens! Maybe they already found the aliens! Maybe the real aliens were the friends they made along the way!

_People like you._

As Shiro made his way back toward the campfire, Kolivan’s phrasing rolled around in his head. Sure, Shiro had been trying to keep the affectionate displays to a minimum this year (there was a complaint last year about the “two boy counselors who kept holding each other”), but he still thought it was well established that he loved Keith. Why would he try to hurt him? He was trying not to be paranoid about it, but he couldn’t help but wonder if Kolivan knew he was a merman. If he did, did he know about the other merperson in the lake? If he knew anything about merpeople, he could sure use Kolivan’s knowledge. Unluckily for Shiro, Kolivan seemed to hate him.

When he made it back to the campfire, Shiro felt a lot of his stress melt away at the sight of his friends.They all knew his most intimate secret and remained his friend through it all. He smiled at them as Hunk and Pidge discussed the logistics of making a raft from supplies from the craft cupboard.

“Sit with us,” Allura caught his eye-contact and coaxed, scooting aside so that he could sit between her and Keith. Shiro’s smile turned warm, pushing his cheeks up.

“Actually,” Shiro’s hands found his hips, his chest jutting outward in a pose the staff had learned to dread. It meant Shiro had an idea and that they would have to get up, “How about a good old fashioned mermaid stakeout?”

\--

“Found him.” Pidge reached up to press her finger into the tip of Shiro’s nose, pushing it upward and exposing his front teeth. She snorted at the sight and kept her finger there until Shiro swatted her away.

At the lake, the six of them laid out a blanket just like old times. This time felt much better. The best part was that they knew a mermaid was actually out there. The next best part was that Shiro didn’t have to pretend he wasn’t one. The third best part was that Shiro didn’t have to pretend he wasn’t head over heels crushing on Keith.

When Shiro got comfortable on the blanket, Keith immediately found his lap, settling himself into the gap between Shiro’s criss-crossed legs. Shiro rested his chin on the top of Keith’s head and let out a long slow sigh. Keith’s hand found his prosthetic one and slipped their fingers together.

“Feeling okay, big guy?” Keith tilted his head backward to look up at Shiro. Keith’s curiously concerned expression made his face feel warm.

“Yeah!” Shiro assured, still trying to figure out Kolivan’s words before he worried Keith with them. “I’ll talk to you about it later.”

Keith’s expression dropped, but he nodded, squeezing his hand before turning to look back at the lake.

“Shiro, was it a mermaid? Or a merman?” Lance butted in as he peered at the water’s surface with a pair of binoculars.

Shiro shrugged, “I’m not really sure. They were big.”

Lance nodded as if that information was a good lead in the mass investigation going on in his head.

“So, what happens next?” Allura settled herself on the other side of Shiro, crossing her legs and resting her chin in her hands as she gazed out over the water.

“Last time, we sat on the blanket for hours while we waited for…” Pidge trailed off as her lips flattened into a tense line of exasperation. She looked up at Shiro as her eyes narrowed. Shiro immediately realized an oversight or two.

“Pidge, I… I’m so sorry.”

“You jerk!” Pidge got to her feet and glared down at him, hands finding her hips as she took the rare advantage of being higher than Shiro, “Over three hours. We sat here. And you sat with us. For three. Hours.”

Keith’s hands braced either of Shiro’s knees, putting more of himself between his boyfriend and Pidge.

“I thought you’d enjoy the thrill of the hunt!”

“I had back pain the rest of the week! And you were sitting right behind me the whole time.” She shook her head and plopped back down on the blanket, turning her back on him. “Were you making fun of us?”

“I wasn’t!” Shiro was still trying to decipher whether she was genuinely angry or if it was playful exasperation when he added another, “I’m really sorry, Pidge. I had to protect myself.”

For a while, Pidge didn’t say anything before letting out a dismissive grunt, “It’s not like you’re some hideous monster. Your secret is so attractive, it’s disgusting! Who wouldn’t be delighted to see a merman? It’s a no brainer that we would have accepted you. You don’t know what it’s like to know telling your secret means losing everyone.”

“Oh, and you do?” Lance butted in before Hunk’s wide hand found his mouth to cover it.

“Pidge, don’t make him feel guilty for not sharing his own secret!” Keith’s fingers pressed a little more firmly into Shiro’s knees.

“Well, Pidge has a point.” Shiro reasoned, sensing that this wasn’t just about the stakeout, “You guys went through a lot to try and solve the mystery. Believe me. I knew you guys were desperate to find out and I still encouraged you to find the truth. Maybe I was too afraid to say it myself, so I lead you on.” He let out a deep sigh, “If it were as simple as being accepted by my friends, I would have told you a long time ago, but you don’t speak for the rest of the world. Until a few days ago, I thought I was the only one of my kind. If the wrong people knew that…”

_Splash…_

Shiro’s eyes caught the surface of the lake, barely seeing a glimpse of tailfin dip under the water.

“Was that the mermaid?” Hunk whispered as Keith scrambled out of Shiro’s lap.

Shiro ran down the bank, wiggling out of his shoes and shirt as he dove into the lake, flinging his shorts toward the shore with a sharp flick of his tail. He shot through the water in the direction of the splash and quickly found out he didn’t have to go far. The mermaid was waiting for him and Shiro stopped when he realized they weren’t going to swim away.

Shiro debated in his mind how to approach. For now, he held back and decided to study them… Her… He was pretty sure she was female. Her webbed hand rested on the hilt of a knife hung loosely from a belt on her hip. She felt threatened, but maybe she was just as curious about him as he was about her. Shiro kept his distance, putting his hands up in the least threatening way he could. She didn’t move, but her eyes traveled to Shiro’s mechanical arm.

Slowly, Shiro pointed toward the shore and the mermaid immediately shook her head. Too crowded. She pointed toward the canoe trail leading to the waterfall and Shiro shook his head. Too secluded. Her expression told him she’d realized the same thing he did. They would talk here or nowhere. Shiro’s shoulders drooped.

Slowly, her hand pulled away from her knife as she tapped her index and middle fingers together, then pointed at Shiro with a quizzical expression.

Stupidly, Shiro stared at her, tilting his head slowly as the mermaid’s face became more irritated. There was something about her expression that seemed familiar.

She repeated the gesture and, once again, Shiro had only a small shrug to offer. This time, she didn’t look upset, but she definitely seemed confused. For whatever reason, this caused her to glide a bit closer to Shiro. He froze in place, ready to dart away if he had to.

Her features were more apparent, now. Her skin was an unmistakably warm lavender color. A pair of pointed purple markings curved down the sides of her cheeks reminiscent of the one that appeared on Keith’s. In fact, there was a lot of familiarity around the sharp angle of the mermaid’s jawline, the black curls that floated all around her curious expression, and the intensity of her eyes that had started to glow a soft yellow.

Shiro heard the muffled sound of Allura calling his name above the surface and he remembered the others were probably worried he hadn’t surfaced in a few minutes. He held up one finger in the hopes that the mermaid would stay put as he kicked toward the surface. When his head broke the surface, he could see Allura standing in the shallows, arms crossed as she scanned the surface of the water.

“What’s wrong?” Shiro asked as Allura’s vision zeroed in on his head.

“Something happened to Keith! You need to come now!”

Suddenly, the water felt like ice as he searched the shore for Keith. Where did he go? He ducked under the water to see that, unsurprisingly, the mermaid had left.

—

“Keith?”

When Shiro made it back to shore, the others explained that they were talking about the mermaid when Keith suddenly held his head and ran off into the woods. Worry stopped all the thoughts in Shiro’s mind and when he was finally dry enough to get his clothes back on, the five of them split up to search for Keith.

“It’s Shiro! Please come out!”

He checked his phone for the dozenth time that minute. Nothing.

Shiro wasn’t exactly sure where Keith would have gone. If he was back at the staff cabin, Pidge would have texted him by now. For now, Shiro searched the woods beside the lake trail.

“Keith! I’m not gunna give up looking, so you might as well--”

“Shiro, I’m here!”

Shiro followed the sound of Keith’s voice urgently. There was a hint of desperation in his boyfriend’s tone that made Shiro panic as he followed the sound of his voice. He wasn’t hard to find after this. Keith emerged from behind a ridge along a hill that lined the trail and Shiro stumbled on a rock.

“Keith! We were worried…” Shiro was talking in order to give himself time to process what he was seeing. The whites of Keith’s eyes had turned completely yellow and the stripe around his cheek returned. Maybe it was the moonlight, but it seemed like there was a lavender tint to his skin.

“I know…” Keith looked at one of his arms. His hand was shaking. Shiro immediately took to the hill to reach Keith. He was thankful for his swim because his legs felt good.

“I think I know what’s happening to you and it’s actually kind of wonderful!” That mermaid resembled Keith so much, especially now. Keith was probably that mermaid’s relative.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying this,” Keith’s expression was a mixture of worry and confusion. When Shiro reached him and put his hands on his shoulders, they were tense. Everything on Keith looked tense like his muscles had been wound up. He relaxed slightly under Shiro’s touch, but it seemed impossible for him to fully calm down.

“No, Keith. You’re… I think you’re a merman.”

Everything on Keith tensed back up as he looked Shiro in the eyes. His expression almost looked pained. It was difficult to read him right now.

“Shiro, I don’t think that’s true.” Keith carefully pulled Shiro’s arms away from him and curled his fingers under his bicep to move him along. They squeezed back along the ridge, finding a part in the rock formation where a human could barely fit. Keith’s smaller frame could scoot through sideways. Shiro… had to squeeze.

“I was waiting for you to come back with the others when I felt this… weird urge,” Keith continued, “I felt like I had to follow something. Like something was telling me to search. The closer I got to the source, the more I looked like this.”

“Source?”

“You’ll see.”

There was a moment while squeezing through the crevasse that made Shiro worry he was going to get stuck before the rocks finally parted to reveal a large clearing. Immediately, Shiro saw what Keith was talking about and froze.

In front of them was some kind of aircraft, but it was unlike anything Shiro had seen before. It was pale silver in color apart from the black tinted glass cockpit that looked like it could hold two people comfortably. The wings on the sides looked more like jets that were suited for space travel. It certainly looked like something an alien would arrive in.

“One seat for the mermaid, one for Kolivan…” Shiro mumbled, unable to stop looking at the craft.

Keith turned a confused expression toward him, “Kolivan?”

Shiro explained the weird conversation he’d had with Kolivan earlier that evening and how he implied he not only knew what Shiro was, but what Keith was as well.

“So, you think I’m a merman, but we thought I was an alien.” Keith’s hand found Shiro’s arm, “What if… merpeople are aliens?”

\--

There was something about bulk size cans of chocolate pudding that was just so comforting. Maybe it reminded Shiro of the days when he would raid the kitchens as a kid.

Shiro and Keith couldn’t sleep that night and their wandering found them back at the mess hall. Now they sat on the pantry floor with a can of pudding between them and a pair of spoons. Occasionally, Keith’s hand found Shiro’s and squeezed his wrist a moment before returning to the pudding.

Shiro broke the silence first, “It makes more sense than it doesn’t and that’s what scares me.”

“Shiro, even before I found that ship, I’ve known what I was.” Keith scooted closer and rested his head against Shiro’s shoulder. “Maybe not specifically, but I knew I was different in a way that no other kid was different. Maybe it’s what drew me to you so many times.”

“Aww, c’mon Keith, I thought my charming personality.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong! That’s what made me fall in love, but I meant more like… We’re supposed to find each other. That’s why your memory spell doesn’t work on me.”

Shiro nodded, resting his head on Keith’s, “I guess now I know why I couldn’t find my family. They aren’t even on this planet.” He almost felt like laughing. It felt so strange to say. Was his skin going to turn purple someday? Maybe he was only half mermaid.

“We’re still us.” Keith shifted so he could look up at Shiro. “You’re still the same kind, wonderful camp counselor slash merman. You just know a little more about why.”

Shiro took a huge spoonful of pudding and shoved it in his mouth. Keith was right. Nothing changed who they were.

“You know what? It’s not like we can change who we are. We don’t have to figure this out alone, so,” Shiro smiled, “I’m kind of excited to see what comes next.”

\--

When Shiro’s head finally hit the pillow, the birds were already starting their morning song. Even still, he was wide awake. Between Kolivan’s confrontation, finding out Keith wa a merman, and that they’re both possibly aliens, sleeping felt impossible. Keith was burrowed into the crook of his shoulder, fast asleep. Knowing he was getting rest was comforting in itself.

“Can’t sleep?” Pidge’s sleepy voice drifted across the cabin.

“Uh,” Shiro whispered, desperate not to wake Keith. “Not really, no.”

“Nothing’s gunna change, y’know?” Pidge summed up the same conclusion he’d already come to, but it made him feel better to hear it from a friend.

“I know… Hey, Pidge. I’m sorry I didn’t tell--”

“Shiro, it’s okay.” Pidge rolled onto her side and rested her chin on her arms so she could look at Shiro, “I had a lot of stuff pent up and exploded out of context. You have every right not to tell us.”

“I’m glad you know, though.” Shiro looked back up at the ceiling, stretching his legs out as far as they would go. Despite swimming tonight, they felt stiff after searching for Keith.

“Why don’t you turn into a merman while you sleep?”

Shiro looked back at Pidge, lifting an eyebrow.

“What? We all know your secret now. You’re obviously more comfortable like that.” She encouraged.

Shiro nodded, looking back at the ceiling. He reached up to brace Keith in a steady position before closing his eyes. He let out a little sigh of relief as his body returned to its natural form. Immediately, he felt more relaxed as he felt his tailfins plop onto the floor. He checked on Keith, who only cuddled closer to him. He couldn’t help but wonder if he was uncomfortable too. Was there an aquatic form he was holding back?


	6. Fish Sticks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith tries to get to the bottom of his heritage in the most dangerous way possible. Shiro gives Lance a cannibalism scare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a CW for drowning!

“Shiro…?”

Shiro took in a deep breath before opening his eyes. Bright daylight shone through the cabin shutters as the wooden slats creaked and expanded in the summer sun’s heat. Above him, Allura frowned down at him. Her hand was on his shoulder, still gently shaking it as his eyes cleared.

“Oh, g’morning, ‘Llura.” Shiro rubbed his face with a webbed hand and paused a moment to stare at it. Oh, that’s right. Pidge encouraged him to change last night. The next thing he noticed was the distinct lack of Keith, sharply followed by the distinct lack of everyone!

“Huhwhut time is it?” Shiro rolled onto his side to reach for his phone, his heavy tail plopping down onto the floor, almost pulling the rest of him onto the floor with it. He let out a whine of protest, holding onto his pillow for stability.

“It’s almost noon. We’re going to gather the campers for lunch soon.”

“I slept that long?” Shiro dropped his phone, wincing as he heard it clatter on the unfinished wooden floor. Stupid fish hands.

Allura let out a stifled laugh through her nose and helped him pull himself back onto the cot. “Shiro, I’ve never seen you sleep so soundly since the night father found you. And that time, you were anesthetized. We figured you could use the rest.”

Shiro finally got a hold of his phone, seeing a text from Keith: “sleep as long as you need ok? i’ll save you some tater tots”

He smiled at the gesture and rolled onto his back. He didn’t want to turn human. He didn’t want to feel stiff and cramped for the next few hours. He didn’t have a lot of options as far as comfort. He could hide indoors, comfortably cut off from the word, or he could risk his privacy and his life for the convenience of being able to show his tail in public.

There was a third option: find a group of merpeople to take him in and live in the water for the rest of his life. For some reason, the thought of being with his own kind made his stomach turn.

\--

“Are you… Trying to sign?” In the cafeteria, Keith set a tray of food in front of Shiro, whose phone was propped against a drinking glass, seeming to have survived the trip to the floor without a scratch. He had to learn how to speak with the mermaid if he was going to gain her trust. Logically, he turned to Youtube.

“Yeah, I think the mermaid was trying to use sign language to talk to me.”

“You think she speaks ASL?”

Shiro frowned, “I’m not sure. It’s the only start I have..”

Keith sat down across from Shiro, turned his phone’s screen off, and insistently pushed the tray of food closer to Shiro. “I’ll teach you.”

“You sign?” Shiro wasn’t sure why he was surprised by this.

Keith nodded, “One of my friends in the group home growing up was nonverbal. It’s pretty easy to pick up.”

“It is?” Shiro sat up straight and got to work on the tray of fish sticks and mac-n-cheese set in front of him. It was standard cafeteria food, but Hunk had this way of spicing it up to make it taste amazing. “It looks hard to rememb--”

“Shiro!” Lance’s voice cut through the conversation and Shiro looked at the frowning boy in alarm. It looked like Lance had accidentally just witnessed someone get run over.

“What’s wrong?” Shiro looked around until he noticed Lance’s eyes had fallen on the fish stick in his hand.

“You can’t— You’re…” Lance gestured up and down toward Shiro’s body.

“What?” Shiro quickly realized what Lance was trying to say and it flabbergasted him. “Lance, it’s cod.” 

“Oh my god, Lance.” Pidge stood over the table, tray in hand as she scoped out a place to sit. She settled next to Shiro.

“Shiro, you know that’s like,” Lance leaned in, cupping his hands around his mouth as he whispered, “F-I-S-H.”

“Everyone in this room can spell the word ‘fish’,” Keith looked ready to take a swat at Lance, but settled on bending the top of his spoon downward while making direct eye-contact with their distressed friend.

“Lance,” Pidge looked ready to laugh now that the initial shock had worn away, “fish live in the water, right?”

“Yeah? Is this a trick question?”

“And what do you think they eat?”

Lance frowned, looking down at his tray a moment, “S...sea weed?” He sighed as soon as it came out of his mouth and corrected himself in a defeated tone, “Other fish.”

Pidge rested a hand on Shiro’s shoulder like he was a car she had won in a sweepstakes. “So a humanoid predator like Shiro would probably eat tons of fish!”

Keith’s eyebrow rose at Pidge’s wording before he quietly mumbled, “Predator, huh?”

“If it makes you feel better, Lance, it’s kind of upsetting to watch videos or scenes of people scaling and gutting fish.” Shiro cut up his fish with the side of his fork and took a bite with some mac-n-cheese. “Once you get your fin stuck in something, it hurts all day. The sympathy pain gets to me.”

“Oh, do you ever, like, catch fish while you were swimming?” Hunk joined in now. The apron he had been wearing to serve the campers was pulled away from his torso, only hanging to his body at his hips. He sat down next to Lance.

“You mean, do my killer primal merman hunter instincts kick in?” Shiro laughed, “That’s a no.”

“Guys, stop asking him so many weird questions.”

Shiro looked across the table at Keith to see him staring down at his food. He hadn’t eaten any of it. 

“It’s okay, Keith. I don’t mind.” Shiro spoke with an assuring tone.

“I do!” Keith stood up, keeping his eyes on the floor as he shoved away from the table, stood, and stormed away.

Shiro stood to follow, but Allura put her hand on his forearm, “He has a lot to process from last night. I know you want to be there for him, but he might need some space.”

—

Shiro took Allura’s warning to heart, but he couldn’t help but send him a text to let him know he was there if he needed company. The only reply he got was a “thank you” with a heart emoji after it. For Keith, that was a lot.

Shiro didn’t see him until the daily challenge. Today was a foot race around the camp’s running track and the remaining competitors were stretching for their run by the time Shiro’s unit made it. Shiro was suddenly relieved he had to drop out in the last challenge. He wouldn’t be able to keep up with the way his legs had been hurting lately. If he actually did keep pace, he’d run the risk of doing permanent damage to his nerves.

Shiro had his campers seat themselves on the bleachers outside the track and stood against the chain link fence. He waved at Keith, who smiled at the sight of him and jogged over.

“Aw, I forgot you were disqualified.” Keith hooked his fingers on the chain links to steady himself. He looked down, “Sorry I ran away earlier. I’m still not sure what to do with the information I have.”

Shiro nodded in agreement, resting his hands over Keith’s from the other side of the fence. “I kinda know how you feel.”

“Yeah… Are you okay?” Keith looked back up to meet Shiro’s eyes and his expression softened instantly.

“I guess it hasn’t sunk in. Can we talk about it later tonight?”

Keith nodded and leaned up, squishing his lips through the middle of one of the links in the fence. Shiro snorted before delivering a brief kiss to said lips.

“Knock ‘em dead, Keith.”

With a small squeeze of Shiro’s fingers, Keith reluctantly pulled himself away from the fence and jogged back over to meet with the other racers.

The race was surprisingly simple: three laps around the track. The first two competitors to complete the race would face off in the final challenge. Shiro wondered if Kolivan was trying to go easy on them so they could prepare for the final challenge. After the first lap, Shiro realized it was possibly the opposite case for Keith.

While the other racers started at a comfortable jog, Keith took off at full sprint. Everyone fell far behind Keith quickly and, when they started to pick up speed, Keith worked even harder to run faster.

“Pace yourself, baby, you got this!” Shiro called through the fence as he came back to start the second lap. Keith glanced over and Shiro saw a red face filled with sweat and determination. Why was he pushing this so hard?

Another lap came and went and Keith showed no sign of slowing down. He had already surpassed everyone by a long shot. There was no need to keep up the same pace. Keith’s teeth were clenched in obvious pain, his cheeks dripping with tears. Shiro’s stomach dropped when he heard a determined growl of pain. 

“Keith! Slow down!” Shiro broke away from the fence and jogged around to the gate to let himself inside. What would he do? He couldn’t just run out and catch him. 

Keith was nearing the finish line when he finally started to slow down. It was like his body was physically incapable of maintaining that speed, but Shiro couldn’t feel relief yet. Keith crossed the finish line, clearly in first place, and collapsed immediately.

“Keith!” Shiro ran out to him, dropping to his knees to scoop him into his arms. “Why did you--?” He cut himself off, not worried about why right now. “Are you okay?”

At first, Keith couldn’t reply. He groaned in pain as he hunched over, holding onto his legs like he was afraid they would fall off. “My… my legs--!” He panted.

Shiro frowned. This was something he was familiar with and this all but confirmed their suspicions.

“Feels like hot knives, doesn’t it?” Shiro’s hands moved down Keith’s legs, pressing his thumbs firmly into a spot on the back of Keith’s ankles. He felt Keith relax against him and he knew it relieved the pain a little. 

“Should we take him to a hospital?” Allura’s tired voice behind Shiro made him jump.

“No!” Keith protested, leaning into his boyfriend as he placed his hands over Shiro’s to keep them in place. He looked into Shiro’s eyes and nodded at him slowly. Keith wanted him to understand something.

“It’s okay, Keith. I’ll help you get anywhere you need to go.” Shiro’s eyes fell to Keith’s legs again, checking them over for any signs of a change. He started to remember little things like the way Keith’s legs gave out on him during the canoe race or the way he seemed just as eager to get to the hot spring as Shiro was. 

“Can we go to the lake?” Keith whispered, eyes pleading. 

—

“Keith, I really don’t like the idea of forcing a transformation.” Shiro paced in the lake’s water near the shore, walking his hands along the sandy bank. Keith sat in the shallows, sticking his legs out as far as they would go. Dipping into the water didn’t provide Keith the relief he desperately needed, but it did get his muscles to relax and took the weight from his feet.

“If I really am, uh… like you, there’s something preventing me from changing. I need my body to kick into emergency mode or something.” Keith floated closer to Shiro, “I want you to be the first one to see my… it. See it.”

“Your tail.” Shiro finished for him. To Keith’s credit, it did feel kind of weird and even a little silly to refer to Keith having a fish tail. 

Keith took a deep breath, “My tail.”

The two of them shared a few moments of quiet as the low sun of dusk kissed the top of the lake. The water’s surface trilled with Keith’s movement as he floated closer to his boyfriend and placed a hand on his warm wet shoulder. Shiro lifted his hand to touch Keith’s face, but Keith caught his wrist, sliding his palm onto Shiro’s webbed one. Shiro watched as Keith carefully studied the membrane illuminated by sunset, eyes following the trails of veins.

“What does it feel like when you turn?” Keith’s eyes lifted to find Shiro’s.

“It feels good. Like it’s how my body is supposed to be and it’s turning back to normal.” He smiled, hoping it would ease any of Keith’s fears, but it only made his expression drop.

“It really does hurt you to be on land, doesn’t it?” Keith’s brow crinkled.

Shiro sighed, moving his hand to rest on Keith’s shoulder, “Only when I overdo it. Now that I’m learning my limits, it doesn’t hurt as much.” His grip squeezed gently.

“As much…” Keith repeated, reaching up to cover the hand on his shoulder with his own. His expression didn’t brighten and Shiro felt like he’d been hit in the stomach.

Before Shiro had a chance to clarify what he meant, Keith ducked from under Shiro’s touch and started to swim toward the dock. Shiro sighed and trailed after him, following him to the farthest support beam where Keith wrapped his arms.

“Keith, you don’t even know if you are a merman or an alien.”

“I know that my skin turns purple. You said that mermaid looked a lot like me. What if she’s my…” Keith stared down at the water’s surface, “I just have to find out.”

“But if being a merman would make you miserable, why force it?”

It appeared for a moment that Shiro’s words hit Keith over the head as he winced and Shiro immediately felt guilty. Without another word, Keith took in a breath and dipped under the water, hugging the support beam to keep from floating back up. Shiro ducked under as well to keep an eye on Keith. It was over a minute before Keith caved and broke the surface with a big gasp for air. His hand flew to his neck to feel for any kind of gills forming, but it was as smooth as it was before he submerged himself.

“I need to go deeper, maybe. Then I won’t be tempted to surface.” Keith mused out loud.

Shiro shook his head, “No, Keith! This is way too dangerous.”

“I trust you to keep me safe, Shiro.”

“I don’t trust me! I don’t know what the limits are for humans.”

There was something hopeless about Keith’s frown before he slipped back under the water. A frustrated growl creaked out from between Shiro’s teeth before he dove after him. A few feet below, Keith held on to the support and tried to hold his breath again.

A full minute passed and Keith’s fingers curled in discomfort. One minute, ten seconds, Keith was past his last breaking point. One minute, thirty seconds, he crunched his eyes closed tightly, pressing his forehead to the support. One minute, thirty-five seconds, he banged his fist against the support and Shiro swam in to pull on his waist. Keith batted him away, causing bubbles to escape through his pursed lips. Shiro pulled more insistently, but Keith continued to hold tight. Bubbles poured out of his mouth and Shiro saw him twitch with his body’s urge to draw in air. 

“Keith!” A vibrating shockwave of sound pulsed from Shiro’s throat, causing Keith the freeze up immediately. His grip loosened just enough for Shiro to pull him away to the surface. Keith didn’t take a breath when they reached the open air.

Shit.

Shiro laid him down on the shore.

Shit. No.

His head spun with the CPR training they had to take as camp staff. What step came first? Check for breathing? He wasn’t. 

Okay.

Rescue breaths? No, they don’t do those anymore, right? Keith could die in the time it took for Shiro to remember which years of certification were still relevant and settled on just doing chest compressions. It didn’t take many compressions to stabilize Keith, but it didn’t change how terrified it left Shiro. As Keith coughed up the remaining lake water in his lungs, Shiro frowned down at him.

“You would have died!” He blurted angrily.

“I’m sorry,” Keith rolled onto his side, getting out a few more coughs before laying back with a groan, “I had to know for sure.”

“Keith, I understand wanting to know where you come from, but you have to know your limits. You’ve been pushing yourself so much lately. First you overexert yourself in the challenge, then you almost drown trying to trigger a change your body may not be able to do.”

“I have to!” Keith sat up slowly, “I need to be… Ugh!” He gestured to Shiro, “Look at you! This morning, I woke up with your big gorgeous fins all over me and I realized just how incredible and magnificent you are. This world wasn’t built to contain you. You deserve to live comfortably and if I’m not… like you, then I can’t--”

“Keith please,” Shiro couldn’t explain why tears had formed in his eyes. This was starting to sound too much like a breakup. “Don’t talk like I’d be happier somewhere else. The only person who gets to decide where I’m happiest is me. I could have made my way to the ocean to find more people like me by now, but I didn’t. I’m here because there’s nowhere else I want to be.”

Keith’s expression softened as he took a few moments to look down in his lap before throwing his arms around Shiro’s neck.

“Being without you would be more painful than running a thousand marathons on legs.” Shiro whispered, holding Keith tightly.

“What if the ocean calls you away?” Keith murmured into his shoulder, curling his fingers around the top of the folded dorsal fin that extended up into Shiro’s hairline.

“Then I’ll build you the most beautiful submarine to take you with me.”

Shiro felt Keith chuckle against him, which coaxed out a few more coughs.

“We’ll figure this out, okay?” Shiro encouraged, rubbing Keith’s back. His muscles felt so tense. “Please take it easy with the challenge tomorrow. You don’t have to prove anything, you know.”

Keith nodded into his shoulder. “I have to win.”

“Why?”

“You’ll find out soon.”


End file.
